Raikan Ilmu 2026: Learning, Reflection and Almost 400 Meaningful Encounters.

Oct 5

4 min read

Updated: 5 days ago

On 3rd and 4th October 2026, BapaHebat SG was grateful to participate in MENDAKI’s Raikan Ilmu at One Punggol.

Across the two days, close to 400 people visited and participated at our booth.

The number was encouraging. But what mattered more to us were the small moments behind that number — fathers stopping to reflect, children writing messages to their dads, families taking part together, and conversations that opened up naturally around fatherhood, parenting and relationships.

For BapaHebat SG, Raikan Ilmu was not simply an outreach event. It became a space where learning took place in a very practical and personal way.

When a Simple Card Opens a Conversation

One of the most meaningful activities at our booth was also one of the simplest.

We invited fathers to write a short message to their children — something they wanted their child to know, remember or feel.

At the same time, children were invited to complete their own card beginning with:

“Dad, I want to spend more time with you…”

They could then write what that time together might look like.

The responses were simple, honest and, at times, deeply moving.

Some children wanted to play with Dad. Others wanted to go out together, have a meal, talk, or simply spend more uninterrupted time together.

For the fathers, the activity created a different kind of pause.

In the middle of a busy community event, they were being asked to stop for a moment and put into words what they wanted their children to hear from them.

What appeared to be a simple card-writing activity became an opportunity for fathers and children to express things that may not always be said in everyday life.

Sometimes strengthening a father-child relationship does not begin with a big intervention.

Sometimes it begins with a child saying:

“Dad, I want more time with you.”

And a father being reminded to respond:

“I hear you. You matter to me.”

That, for us, was one of the most meaningful parts of the weekend.

Raising Confident Children

Another highlight was our TehTarik with Dads and Mums – “Raising Confident Children: Helping Our Children Believe, Try and Grow”, held on 3 October 2026.

The session brought together Ustaz Md Firdaus Sulaiman, Arif Tan and Jamsari Ahmad, with Azri Zulfarhan moderating the discussion.

The conversation centred on one important idea:

Raising confident children is not about making sure they always feel confident. It is about helping them know what to do when they do not.

The panel explored how children develop confidence through a secure foundation, opportunities to try, space to make choices, encouragement that recognises effort, and support when things do not go as planned. These themes were central to the session design.

One distinction captured the conversation particularly well:

Confidence says: “I think I can do this.”

Resilience says: “Even if I can’t do it yet, I know what to do next.”

Perhaps most encouraging was the feedback shared afterwards reflected that the discussion had caused them to think about their own parenting approaches, with one person expressing an intention to do some things differently after the session.

We may not always be able to measure such moments immediately, but they matter.

Learning Is Not Only for Children

Raikan Ilmu celebrates learning as something that extends beyond the classroom and continues throughout life.

That resonates strongly with our work.

Fatherhood itself is a lifelong learning journey.

As children grow, fathers have to grow too.

The way we relate to a young child may not work with a teenager. What once required direction may later require more listening. What once required protection may later require us to step back and allow our children to try.

The session also explored how children gradually need to internalise the support, judgement and confidence they first receive from their parents — moving from “Ayah, I can’t do it” towards “I’m scared, but I know my next step.”

That process of growth is not only for children.

It is for parents too.

Almost 400 Encounters, One Shared Purpose

Across the two days, close to 400 people came through and participated at our booth.

Behind that figure were many individual moments:

a father thinking about what he wanted to say to his child,
a child writing how they wanted to spend more time with Dad,
a parent pausing to reflect,
a family participating together,
and conversations that might otherwise never have happened.

These moments reminded us that meaningful change often begins with something simple:

attention, conversation and time together.

We are grateful to MENDAKI and the Raikan Ilmu team for creating a platform where learning, family and community could come together in such a meaningful way.

We are also thankful to our panelists, moderator, volunteers and everyone who supported the BapaHebat SG booth over the two days.

Most of all, we thank the fathers, mothers, children and families who stopped by, participated, shared and reflected with us.

At BapaHebat SG, we recognise that fathers come from different starting points.

Our role is not to tell fathers what a perfect father should look like.

It is to support each father in taking the next meaningful step — towards being more present, more intentional and more connected with his children.

Raikan Ilmu gave us almost 400 opportunities to do just that.

One card. One conversation. One family at a time.